Talkin' Baseball with Mary - Pudge, Chipper, Hamel & Tejada

photo from:  www.wastereducer.com

Welcome Spring!  Isn't this time of year great?  It won't be long and our boys of summer will be back where they belong.  Here is a little bit of what's going on in our wonderful world of baseball:

All of this action took place on March 20.

Pudge is a 'Stro -  The Houston Astros finalized their one-year deal with the 14-time All-Star, 13-time Gold Glove Ivan Rodriguez today.  It's been a long off season for him,but he has a baseball home, "It's taken a while to be honest with you," he said today, "It wasn't an easy off season for me.  I'm glad to be back into a Major League organization."

Chipper Still Having Trouble - There is still something going on with Chipper Jones' strained side muscle. He said Thursday, "It still isn't right."  He has no problem with the regular plays in the field, but when he cranks it up a notch with his swing, he has some trouble with it.

Hamel Schedules a Bullpen Session - Cole Hamels will try to move up to the next step with his pitching sessions to see if he still has the tightness in his elbow.  He got an anti-inflammatory injection in Philadelphia on Tuesday.  Since then, he's been doing the long tosses of 150 feet and it felt fine.  The next step is when he pitches off the mound.  The plans are to try that next step tomorrow. This will give him a better idea how the tightness will affect him after that.

Possible Probation for Tejada - He lied to Congress regarding steroids - that is not a good thing.  But the Federal Prosecutor in the case asked the U.S. District Court Judge from the District of Columbia for probation for Miguel Tejada because he has no priors. His sentencing will take place next week and Tejada will find out their answer in his case. It will be a long week for him.  Think?